Inside the weird world of jousting – the medieval sport that's trying to get into the Olympics

In jousting, two horses face each other on opposite sides of a field, with a fence running tightly between them.

On command, the horses gallop toward each other at speeds of up to 30 mph, while their riders — who wear heavy armour and hold shields — prepare to attack, armed with 12-foot-long wooden lances.

Besides hitting the target on their opponent's shield, the main aim is to "unseat" the other knight by knocking him or her off the horse.

The sport — which is said to have first been held in 1066 — is dangerous. Jousters have been known to come away with punctured lungs, fractured shoulders, and broken legs.

Nevertheless, a new petition by English Heritage hopes to persuade the Olympic committee to accept jousting into its quadrennial competition.

On its website, English Heritage claims that the sport requires "the same level of athleticism and agility, skill and strength as many of the would-be Olympic medal winners heading to Rio this summer."

Intrigued, I ventured to Hever Castle in Kent, which regularly hosts competitive jousting on summer weekends, hoping to try out the medieval sport.

After arriving at the impressive 13th Century castle, I was taken to meet the jousters, who were hanging out on camping chairs by a caravan, dressed as though they were about to perform in a school production of "The Three Musketeers."

Despite having only ridden a horse twice in my life, I was under the impression that I would be able to have a go in the paddock, before the tournament began.

A young man dressed as a medieval peasant greeted me and introduced himself as "Mungo." He led me towards the back of the caravan, before peering inside and saying: "Are you decent?"

Out stepped Sir Jasper, a middle-aged man in a full chainmail suit.

"The problem is that a lot of people want to ‘have a go,’" Sir Jasper told me, clearly annoyed by my request. "Well, that’s not what I'm really into, I haven't got the time."

Sir Jasper — whose real name is Jeremy Richardson — has been jousting for the past 41 years. He now spends less time in A&E, which he says is because of his "wisdom and experience."

Richardson runs the Knights of Royal England, a jousting company that stages more than 60 competitions each year. Though unrelated to the English Heritage team, Richardson also believes the sport should be brought to the Olympics.

"It’s very physically demanding," Richardson explained. "There are a lot of skills."

One of the sport's toughest challenges is conditioning horses to “gallop down flat out at 30 mph against somebody with a lance pointed at them," he said.

After our brief chat, I was directed to the jousting arena — a rectangular field, flanked by two "Royal boxes," and families picnicking on a grassy mound — and await the show.

The show began with actors resembling Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (former tenants of Hever Castle) leading a procession from the front of the castle to the Jousting Arena.

The four riders: Sam of Hever, Sir Stephen of Porlock, Lord Ashley of Hampshire, and Sir Jasper, followed close behind.

The rotund Henry VIII took on the role of compère during the tournament. He announced different events and explained that the jousters would be divided into two teams: the Reds and Blues.

In between violent jousts, where lances splinter and riders are knocked off horses, various actors try to entertain the crowd with slapstick fighting. At random intervals the knights dismounted from their horses, brandishing swords. Meanwhile Mungo — a 14th-century hype man — encouraged the crowd to cheer.

The show felt less like a competition and more like a childish pantomime. Only occasional flashes of brutality to made it look like a real sport.

Hever Castle

Historical purists, like Dominic Sewell, who runs Historic Equitation — a more earnest jousting company commissioned by English Heritage — takes exception to the more frivolous aspects of Sir Jasper's show.

"There is no King Arthur, there is no Black Knight, there’s no Sir Lancelot, there are no cheesy names," in the English Heritage tournaments, Sewell told me over the phone the day after the jousting tournament.

"What we’re trying to recreate historical jousting, which is a competitive sport," the 48-year-old added.

"There is a tension between us, I suppose. What they do is story-telling. It’s TV, like Game of Thrones," he said. "In no way is there any historical value or sportsmanship in it."

Hever Castle

Back in Hever, Sir Jasper had gently warned me about the pomposity of the English Heritage Knights.

"Me and the people here have been jousting a lot longer than they have," Sir Jasper had said.

Sir Jasper explained that he and his knights were more concerned with entertainment than with historical accuracy, which is why they do not have "long, really boring shows."

However, he said that performing in one of the Knights of Royal England competitions also requires a high level of technical skill and physical strength.

Dominic Sewell (left) performing in an English heritage joust.Alexis Stefanopolous

Undoubtedly, the English Heritage knights have a more intense training regime.

Sewell trains his horses for four hours each morning, and spends two hours every afternoon perfecting his combat skills, he said.

To stay historically accurate, he has spent £30,000 on a suit of armour.

Though the sport is practiced across Europe, Russia, Australia, and in some US states, Sewell said there are only "about 16" jousters at his level.

Hever Castle

The lack of high-level competition in the jousting world may be a problem for its international ambitions.